Fabric with rubber inlay and embroidery patterns and method of knitting same



March 29, 19.38. J, GETA 2,112,769

Z FABRIC WITH RUB INLAY AND EMBROIDERY PATTER AND M., OD OF KNITTING SAME Filed Jan. 30, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVNTOR JAMES L. GETAZ BY His ATTORNEYS MMM March 29, 1938. A J. L. @E1-AzY 2,112,769

FABRIC WIT UBBER INLAY AND EMBROIDERY PATTERNS ING SAME D METHOD OF K. T

Filed Jan. 0, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN TOR JAMES GETAZ BY Hls ATTORNEYS Patented Mar.. 29, 1938 FABRIC WITH RUBBER INLAY AND EM- BROIDERY PATTERNS AND METHOD OF KNITTIN G SAME James L. Getaz, Maryville, Tenn.

* Application January 30, 1936, Serial No. 61,612

18 Claims. (Cl. 66-172) This invention relates to knitted fabrics and more particularly to knitted hosiery fabrics and it is an object of this invention to provide an improved fabric of the type described in Which there is incorporated during the knitting thereof an additional thread of rubber or elastic Which tends to contract the fabric and serves as a garter and in which there is also incorporated yarns to form genuine or mock wrap embroidery patterns on the fabric. It is also an object of this invention to provide a method of forming the fabric.

In the drawingsg Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a fabric constructed in accordance With this invention, the fabric being expanded', and showing the relations of the various threads of which the fabric is formed;

Fig. 2 is a view of the portion of fabric shown in Fig. 1, showing the relations of the Wales Which appear at the face of the fabric when the fabric is contracted by the rubber or elastic thread; and

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic vieW, drawn to a smaller scale, of fabric constructed in accordance with this invention forming a stocking top.

In the drawings there is shown a fabric constructed in accordance with this invention and designed for use as a stocking top. In the making of this fabric on a circular knitting machine the main or body yarn or yarns are knit on the 30 cylinder needles to form a plain fabric and during the knitting of the plain fabric a rubber or elastic thread is fed during a number of the courses,

the rubber thread being fed in front of and below the latches of alternate or recurrent needles which are raised in advance of the usual knitting Wave in order that when the remaining or intermediate needles are raised during the usual knitting wave these needles Will be raised in front .wrapped by each embroidery yarn in each course and each embroidery yarnrrnay be fed to the same needle or needles throughout or to different needles in successive courses. I

In Figure 1 of the drawings there is shown, in. expanded condition, a number of courses, as courses a to q, and a number of Wales, as Wales I to il, of a fabric in accordance with this inven-l tion. Throughout the portion of the fabric shown the main or body yarnB is knitted by every needle in'each course and the rubber or elastic thread R is fed in each course in front of and below the latches of alternate or recur- 5 rent needles, as the needles which knit the wales I, 3, 5, 1, 9, I I etc., the rubber thread being cast off with the loops of the body vyarn at the usual knitting Wave, an operation which causes the rubber thread .to be engaged between the sinker and needle loops of the Wales 2, 4, 6, 8, I0 etc., the feeding and engagement of the rubber thread being the same as shown in my co-pending application S. N. 53,824, flied December 10, 1935.

On selected ones of the needles in front of which the rubber thread R is placed the embroidery yarn E is wrapped. As shown in vFigure 1, in which a genuine Wrap is illustrated, the embroidery yarn is `wrapped upon the same needle, the needle of Wale 9,A for two successive courses, 20 as courses b and c, and then in the following course d wrapped upon an adjacent needle in front of which the rubber thread is placed at either sideof the needle previously taking the wrap yarn,"as the needle of Wale 1. This gives an embroidery stripe having two stitches of the embroidery yarn in a Wale and then two stitches of the embroidery yarn `in a Wale spaced from the previous embroidered Wale by an intervening Wale. As described in my prior co-pending application, above mentioned, a fabric having rubber laid in in the manner described is, when contracted, substantially a iiat fabric in which the wales knit by the needles in front of which the rubber thread is laid are forced to the face of the fabric While the Wales knit by the intervening needles in back of Which the rubber thread4 is floated are forced to the back of the fabric. This results, as shown in Figure 2, in providing a flat fabric in which the embroidered wales lie adjacent to each other when the fabric is in the contracted condition and gives the appearance of a continuous embroidery pattern on a rib fabric although the embroidery stitches are separated by an intervening Wale and are spaced apart when the fabric is in an expanded condition. As the fabric is expanded to someextent as knit, the floats of the embroidery yarn are of sumcient length to permit expansion of the fabric.

Where the genuine Wrap is used for forming the embroidery pattern it is necessary, owing to the manner in which the Wrap threads are fed to the needles, to lay in the rubber thread in each course if it is desired to maintain the rubber thread as a continuous thread as otherwise the oats of the rubber and'wrap threads entangle.

Where the embroidery thread is fed at the throat plate to form a mock wrap embroidery pattern the rubber thread may be fed to spaced courses only, if' desired, and still kept a continuous `thread without entangling with the floats of the embroidery thread provided .the embroidery thread is taken by needles ata number of places about the needle circle to knit what is known as an all over pattern as the short floats of the embroidery yarn then lie close to the fabric ,and do not cause loops of objectionable size to be formed of the rubber thread oat. Where a mock wrap pattern is formed at spaced points, as at opposite sides of the stocking, it is necessary to feed the rubber thread in each course in which the embroidery thread is fed to the needles; but, if the rubber thread is fed in each course it is not necessary to feed the embroidery thread in each course. vWhere the embroidery thread is fed to form a mock wrap the rubber thread will lbe placedin front of alternate needles and the embroidery threads will be taken by selected ones of such alternate needles as when the embroidery thread is fed toform a genuine wrap pattern.

1, A plain fabric portion comprising main or body yarn or. yarns knit at every Wale in a plural- `wales in a plurality of courses.

2. A plain fabric portion comprising main or body yarn or yarns knit at every Wale in a plurality of courses, an elastic thread engaged with the fabric at recurrent wales in a plurality of successive coursesand embroidery yarns knit at a plurality of wales in al plurality of courses.

3. A plain fabric portion comprising main or body yarn or yarns knit at every wale in a plurality of courses, an elastic thread engaged with the fabric at alternate wales in recurrent courses, said rubber thread upon contraction forcing the intermediate wales to the face of the fabric and embroidery yarns knit at a plurality of said interrnediate wales in a plurality of courses.

4:.v A plain fabric portion comprising main or body yarn or yarns knit at every wale in a plurality of courses, an elastic thread engaged with the fabric at alternate wales in successive courses for a plurality of courses, said rubber thread upon contracting forcing the intermediate wales to the face of the fabric and an embroidery yarn knit' at a single intermediate Wale in each of a plurality of courses.

5. A plain `fabric portion comprising main or body yarn or yarns knit at every wale in a plurality of courses, an elastic thread engaged with the fabric at alternate wales -in successive courses, said/rubber thread upon contracting forcing the intermediate wales to the face of the fabric and an embroidery yarn knit at adjacent intermediate wales in successive groups of courses.

6. A plain fabric portion comprising main or body yarn or yarns knit at every wale in a plurality of courses, an elastic thread engaged with the fabric at alternate wales in recurrent courses and embroidery yarns knit at a plurality of intermediate wales, said embroidery yarns being on spaced wales when the fabric is expanded and said elastic thread forcing the intermediate wales to the face of the fabric and causing said embroidery yarns to appear as on adjacent wales when the fabric is contracted.

7. A plain fabric portion comprising main or body yarn or yarns knit at every wale in a plurality of courses, anelastic thread engaged with the fabric at alternate wales in recurrent courses f and embroidery yarns knit at a plurality of intermediate wales, said elastic thread contracting said fabric with said embroidered wales at the face of the fabric.

8. A plain fabric portion comprising main or body yarn or yarns knit at every wale in a plu-v rality of successive courses, an elasticthread enprising knitting a plain fabric of a main or body yarn engaging rubber thread in alternate wales of the fabric and forming loops of embroidery yarns on the loops of the body yarn in selected Wales intermediate said alternate wales during the knitting of said fabric.

10. A tubular stocking having a top of weft groundfabric comprising wales and courses, the combination therewith of design threads forming wrap designs on said ground fabric at selected stitches of alternate wales and an elastic thread under tension incorporated unknit in said ground fabric at the rear of said alternate wales, said elastic thread drawing said alternate wales into close proximity with each other, said elastic thread also acting as a garter.

ll. A tubular stocking having a top of weft ground fabric comprising wales and courses, the combination therewith of design threads forming wrap designs on said ground fabric at selected stitches of spaced wales and an elastic thread under tension incorporated unknit in said ground fabric at the rear of said spaced wales, said elastic thread .drawing said spaced wales into close proximity with each other, said elastic thread also acting as a garter.

12. A tubular fabric knitted of a weft ground thread comprising wales and courses, the combination therewith of design threads forming wrap designs on the ground fabric at selected' bination therewith of design threads forming entirely of a ground thread or threads, the com- .bination therewith of design threads forming designs knitted on said ground fabric at selected stitches of selected spaced wales in selected courses, the deslgn threads'passing to the rear of the fabric as floats between said selected stitches, and an elastic thread under tension incorporated coursewise in the wales of the ground fabric, said elastic thread drawing said 7lspaced wales into close proximity with each other.

15. A tubular stocking having a top of weft ground fabric comprising wales and courses knit entirely of a ground thread or threads, the combination therewith of design threads forming wrap designs on said ground fabric at selected stitches of selected spa'iced wales in selected courses, and an elastic thread under tension incorporated coursewise in the wales of the ground fabric, said elastic'thread drawing said spaced wales into close proximity with each other.`

16. A tubular stocking having a top of weft ground fabric comprising wales and courses knit entirely of a ground thread or threads, the combination therewith of design threads forming designs knitted on said ground fabric at selected stitches of spaced apart wales, the design -threads passing to the rear of the fabric as floats between said selected stitches and an elastic thread incorporated coursewise in the wales of the ground fabric, said elastic thread passing behind said spaced wales and drawing the same into close proximity with each other.

17. A tubular stocking having a top of weft knitted ground fabric comprising wales and courses. the combination therewith of design threads forming wrap designs on said ground fabric at selected stitches of selected courses in selected nonadjacent wales andan elastic thread under tension incorporated unknit for one or more courses in said ground fabric, said elastic thread drawing the said nonadjacent wales into close proximity with each other to form a unitary pattern eiect of the selected wrap stitches on the said nonadjacent wales, the .said elastic' thread also acting as a garter.

18. A tubular stocking having a top of weft knitted ground fabric comprising wales and courses, the combination therewith of an elastic thread under tension incorporated unknit for one or more courses in said ground fabric, said elastic thread drawing nonadjacent wales into close proximity with each other and wale threads forming wrap designs on said ground fabric at selected stitches' of selected courses in selected nonadjacent wales.

JAMES L. GETAZ. 

